Having already disrupted the private hire industry, Uber is turning its attention towards the electric bicycle hire market. The ride-sharing giant has snapped up American bike share company Jump, which specialises in dock-less electric bicycles.
Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi said: “We’re committed to bringing together multiple modes of transportation within the Uber app – so that you can choose the fastest or most affordable way to get where you’re going, whether that’s in an Uber, on a bike, on the subway, or more.”
Uber is already having an impact on the way we travel by highlighting some of the advantages of bypassing private car ownership. It’s plan to offer dockless electric bikes on a global scale points towards a future where private cars in cities become an increasingly rare sight.
To quote Enrique Peñalosa, the former mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, who made dramatic changes to the city in favour of pedestrians, “An advanced city is not one where even the poor use cars, but rather one where even the rich use public transport.”
There are many reasons why cars are a blight for those who live in cities. The air pollution that brings about the early death of an estimated 50,000 people every year in Britain alone is at its worst in cities. Research by King’s College four years ago found nitrogen dioxide levels on London’s Oxford Street to be the worst on Earth – a shocking revelation that is prompting new restrictions on the type of vehicles permitted to enter the city.
Dr David Carslaw, Environmental Research Group, was quoted in relation to air pollution levels on Oxford Street: ‘To my knowledge this [level] is the highest in the world in terms of both hourly and annual mean. NO2 concentrations [in Oxford Street] are as high as they have ever been in the long history of air pollution.’
Widespread use of dock-less bicycles can’t come soon enough.
The ethical choice
The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Over 30 years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance , breakdown cover and mobility scooter insurance while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.
The Good Shopping Guide judges us to be the UK’s most ethical provider.
Rob
How will they charge (electrically)?